The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON
Leah Storto, whose cousin Nancy Dalley was murdered in Royal Oak, reads a statement at the Annual Commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, in the commissioners auditorium. The event is held in observance of National Crime Victims' Week, April 21-27.

The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON
Judge Lisa Gorcyca, left, victims rights supervisor Emily McIntyre and Chief Circuit Court Judge Nanci Grant at the Annual Commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, in the commissioners auditorium. The event was held in observance of National Crime Victims' Week, April 21-27.

"My challenge to you today is to find darkness and to be the solution for the problem that exists."

Those words were spoken Tuesday by the Rev. Dr. Bonita F. Laudeman, a member of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force.

Laudeman, speaking at a National Crime Victims' Rights Week event in the Oakland County Board of Commissioners auditorium, said crime victim advocates shine light in dark times.

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"Citizens like you and I are the light," Laudeman said.

"We must take the flashlight and we must go find darkness to make the flashlight work. When you leave this place, you take the light of justice into the darkness, to those places that aren't pretty, to those places that are painful."

Laudeman was the final speaker at the event, which was sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Parents of Murdered Children, HAVEN, Common Ground and the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, Victim Services.

Oakland County Chief Circuit Judge Nanci Grant served as master of ceremonies. She said only 50 percent of all crime victims actually report the crime.

Grant introduced Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper, who bemoaned the fact that tragedies often serve as a form of entertainment.

She touched specifically on the Boston Marathon bombings.

"Interviews and talking heads were sporadically interrupted by TV commercials," she said.

"How quickly the terror, the fear and the pain of these victims can sometimes be reduced to entertainment."

Cooper said she recently turned down a request to appear on a national television show to speak about the Sandra Layne case.

Layne was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison earlier this month in the May 2012 shooting death of her grandson, 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman.

"I reminded (the representative of the show) that there's a mantra from the parents of murdered children, and that is this -- murder is not entertainment, and the suffering of any victim on any level is not entertainment," Cooper said.

Despite her thoughts on the exploitation of crime victims, Cooper sees the light.

"I'm saddened on a daily basis by the fact that human life and dignity have become so cheap, but I am encouraged by the fact that there is a core of professionals dedicated to the victims of crime," she said, mentioning those in law enforcement, assistant prosecutors, victims advocates, court employees, family members and witnesses of crime.

"I look out at this audience of victims' advocates ... and I say to all of you here today, those of you who have lived through tragedy and those of you who have reached out to help others, you too are the true heroes, and I thank you," Cooper said.

Leah Storto -- the cousin of Nancy Dailey, the 80-year-old woman who was killed inside her Royal Oak home in November 2011 -- was next to speak.

"Nancy was beautiful in every way," Storto said.

"She was well-liked and loved by many."

Storto discovered Dailey's body in a pool of blood with her hands tied behind her back. The sight left her shaken.

"I was grief stricken and overwhelmed," she said.

"I did not want to talk to the reporters. The two suspects were still on the run. I felt terrified they would come after me."

Storto was the first witness to testify in the trial against Alan Wood, who was eventually convicted of first-degree murder in the crime and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Tonia Watson, who testified against Wood, was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison on a plea deal.

"At the beginning of the court process, I was anxious," Storto said. She said assistant prosecutors Tricia Dare and John Skrzynski put her at ease.

"They were empathetic and warm," Storto said.

"I felt like a bomb had dropped when I was told I would be subpoenaed and would have to testify. I was intimidated by the thought of all the reporters and cameras in the courtroom."

She appreciated the way Dare handled the case, and also appreciated the special touch that the Oakland County Victims Services representative had.

"On the day sentencing, the courtroom was packed," Storto said.

"I felt empowered and had great satisfaction telling them both what I thought of them."

Robert Willett also spoke at the event. His son and two nephews were killed in a crash involving former Detroit Lion Reggie Rogers on Oct. 20, 1988.

Rogers' blood alcohol content was 0.15 percent when he ran a red light and struck the vehicle carrying Kenneth Willett, 19, of Waterford, and Dale Ess, 17, and Kelly Ess, 18, of Versailles, Mo. All three occupants died following the accident at Wide Track and University in Pontiac, and Rogers served a bit more than a year in jail after being convicted of negligent homicide.

Rogers' blood alcohol content is why Willett will never refer to the crash as an accident.

"When you're drinking and driving, you have control over that," Willett said.

"It's not an accident."

Rogers -- who was not charged with an alcohol-related offense in that crash -- has a total of six driving under the influence convictions on his record.

"We went from having a son and a daughter to just a daughter," Willett said.

"It'll be 25 years in October. Every July 24 would have been our son's birthday. Every Christmas, every holiday, there's a great big hole in your heart because of a decision.

"This is the most committed crime in America ... and it just doesn't have to be."

The death of a child in such a fashion is something Willett will never get over.